GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel has said his government will study the possibility of making parental consent mandatory for love marriages.

Addressing an event organised in Mehsana on Sunday by Sardar Patel Group, an outfit representing the Patidar community, the CM said health minister Rushikesh Patel had requested him to commission a “study” into the incidents of girls eloping for marriage, so that a system could be created wherein the approval of parents is mandatory for love marriage. “If the Constitution supports it, then we will carry out a study regarding this and try to get the best result,” he said.
In 2021, the state government had amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act that penalises forcible or fraudulent religious conversions by marriage. Under the amended Act, there is a provision of up to 10 years’ imprisonment if a person is found guilty. The Gujarat high court later stayed certain contentious sections of the Act and its order was challenged in the Supreme Court, where it is pending.